Improvement in harvesters



- above the other,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MOsEs e. EUBBAED, kOE srEAoUsE, NEw YORK, AssrGNOE To EUBBAED MOWER COMPANY.

lMPuovl-:flvlla-NT IN HARVESTERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 82,413, dated September 22, 1868.

vTo all 'whom t may concern Beit known that I, MosEs G.-HUBBEED,

of the city lof Syracuse, in the State .of New `York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Grass and Grain Harvesters 5 and that the following is a correctdescription thereof, reference being had tothe drawings hereto attached, and forming apart of this specification. y

Thesaid drawings are numbered and designated as follows: Figure l is a perspective view of my mowing-machine complete. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of my self-raking reaping-machine complete. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of my reaper cutting apparatus detached. Fig. 4i is a detached view of the inner end of my reaper cutting apparatus. Fig. 5 is a detached view of one of my guardlingers. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of my iron main frame.

The general construction of my improved harvesters may be described Vas follows, viz-:` I construct the main frame A, either of ,hard wood or cast-iron, in the peculiar form and manner hereinafter described, and I support this frame on the main shaft B, which is supported by the two large wheels C and D. In order to keep this main frame steady, and in a uniform position, I attach the tongue or pole E rigidly thereto 5 and in order to adapt the front end of this pole to' different-sized horses without changing the 4level of the main frame, I make the pole attachment adjustable by bolting the pole to the side of the piece F, which I call the pole-extensiom?7 with several different holes yarranged one at a suitable distanceapart, for convenient adjustment of the front end of the pole; and in order to adapt my machine to the two processes of reaping and mowing, I have this attachment so arranged that I can bolt the pole onto one sideof the pole-extension for mowing, and onto the other side of it for reaping, as will be hereinafterl more fully described. Y

The main frame requires to `be made as stiff as possible, to support `the gearing and keep it in line. For this purpose the sills should stand edgewise, and after long experi- .ence and experiment I have arrived at the form of construction shown for the double bottom boards to the sills the said inclosure is formed very cheaply purpose of attaining `great stiffness .and strength, and the formation of avery convenient inclosure to protect the driver, and hold `tools and other conveniences for workin g the machine. Thus, by placing these mainframe sills edgewise I obtain an unusual rigidity in the frame, and by attaching lthe bottom edges of the and` conveniently, and these bottom boards .thus add largely to the diagonal stiffness of thesmain frame. I extend across this main frame such intermediate cross-sills as are required for the support of the gearing and formation of a smaller apartment, which is securely covered by a hinged lid for the safe keeping of small and valuable tools. The manner in which the pole-extension is bolted tothe main frame adds considerably to its general .strength and stiffness, and, together with the peculiar form of :my frame, enables meto support the inner end of the reaping ,attachment from the rear corner of the main frame without springing it out of line, and thereby cramping the gearing. y .Y

I will now more minutely describe thecon- Vstruction of my machine when arranged for mowing grass, which has heretofore been considered such a distinct process as to require a machine in nearly all respects different from a reaper; but by a long experience in the constructionof mowers and reapers I have succeeded in combining all of the essential elements of thegearing and driving powers for both purposesin atwo-wheeled, convenient, substantial, and cheaply-constructed truck, in all respects precisely adapted to the construction of either a mower or areaper. Therefore, in order to construct the most perfect mower, I have only to attach my improved mowing cutting apparatus to such a truck as previously describen This attachment yI effect by first forming an elastic yielding corner,.composed Of the extension-iron Gr and the wear-plate H and the surface-spring I. v The extension-iron Gris pivoted to the-main frame at K, and the surface-spring is so attached to the main frame at L as to be entirely free while the cutting apparatus is atwork on theordinary level, but will so cramp the surface-spring, when the cutting apparatus is raised by passing over a stone or other obstacle,that the upward' tendency of the cutting apparatus and its inertia will be instantly cramp or break the pitmau or cutting-bar at-Y This connection I form by intro.

tachments. ducing between the surface-spring and framesill a large oval washer, and then forming a large bolt, with a head oval on both sides; and this bolt, being passed up through the spring and washer and vframesill, and secured on the top by a strong nut, firmly clasps the surface-spring between two oval surfaces, producing a practical result of great importance in the working of a mowingmachine. To this yielding corner I hinge my improved cutting apparatus at m by a peculiarly-constructed hinge, which I will now-minutely describe. It is formed by two strong ears projecting out from the side of the wear-plate H, and two corresponding ears projecting up from the inner shoe n, and strong pins passing through these ears, thus forming the main hinge. (The ears projecting out from the wear-plate H are extended upward about three inches, to permit several higher pairs of pinholes to add so much to the height of the rakes and cutters in reaping, and to adjust the level of the platform. This is frequently found to be of great importance, especially in v western grain.) To this inner shoe, thus hinged, I attach the nger-beam O, which I generally make of steel, in order to give it greater strength and stiii'ness, and to this iinger-beam I attach my improved guard-fingers, one of which is marked l?. These guard-iingers have the ordinary open slot, through which the cutters vibrate; but they are of peculiar construction and form. Theyv are so constructed as to allow the cutter-bar to project about one-fourth of an inch in front of the finger-beam, in order to attain a less abrupt shoulder, as shown at R in detached Fig. 5, and the iinger is of such form that its section would be a hexagon of imequal sides, as shown, and these sides are made flat, in order to facilitate polishing and finishing the iin gers on a grindstone or emery-wheel.

The cutter-bar S, I make of the best quality of steel, to attain great strength and extreme lightness; and, in order to avoid the almost fatal tendency of ordinarily-formed cutter-bars to crystallize and break at the inner end, I form the inner end of two or more pieces, and thereby obviatc the peculiar vibration of particles which the rapid concussions caused in working the bar while mowing almost invariably produce, causing the crystallization which is so fatal to the strength ofordinary cutter-bars.

v The breakage of these cutter-bars has for years been a serious difflcultyinworking such highly-speeded cutters as experience shows to be operator,

desirable for harvesting grass or grain on ordinary seeded land; but my improved cutterbar, as above described, and shown in detached drawing, Fig. 3, effectually prevents all such breakage; and when its inner end is confined and held in place by a cap iitting over the top of the cutter-bar head, as shown at T,vthe great wear and consequent concussions are diminished, and great stability and durability attained.

. vIt is sometimes desirable to check the downward motion of the outer end of the cutting apparatus, to admit of controlling and raising it by the raisin g-lever u in passing over large obstructions, such as large stones and stumps. I accomplish this by means of the set-screw V, which can be turned down against the inner shoe, and thus prevent the outer end of the cutting apparatus from dropping, and it l will at once be seen that this arrangement admits of any desired degree of iiexibility to the cutting apparatus. (The set-screw V should be removed entirelywhen the reaping-platform is attached.)

To the outer end of the finger-beam I attach my improved outer shoe X. This shoe is so formed as to divide the grass and give the outer cutter space in which to stop and change its motion, and at the same time project backward and form a strong point for attaching the outer carrying-wheel Y, with several boltholes for vertical adjustment for cutting different heights of stubble, and also form a jaw for hinging the track-clearer Z thereto. I accomplish all these objects in one piece of casting by making it in the peculiar form shown, Aand thus present a uniform and uninterrupted outline from the point of the shoeto the rear end of the track-clearer, andthe grass is thusparted and divided perfectly. This is a very important element in mowing, and in some kinds of grass requires great perfection of construction to work successfully. /I have found vthe peculiar form of shoe, as shown, with its projecting roof extending from its point back to its rear end and entirely over the adjustable carrying-wheel, to be the only form of construction which combines all the necessary elements for good workin all kinds of grass. The inner end of cutting apparatus is adjusted vertically by the adjusting-rod E.

I will now describe my improved raising lever for controlling the cutting apparatus and raising it over obstacles while at work. The principal objects to be attained in this element of a mower are convenience for the op* erator and quickness of operation. My former plans for constructing a raising-lever have not raised the cutting apparatus high enough and quickly enough to pass large obstacles while at work; and to accomplish these several objects I have found it necessary to make a new device, composed of the raising-handle u and the cam B and the chain C', located and attached as shown, by means of which combination the the chain to wind around the cam, and thus by raising the said handle, causes 2 take up very rapidly, `while Iits convenience of location renderstheprocessof elevating the cutting apparatus very easyand [almost instantaneous, and thiscam admits of thelever being so located with reference to the point of attachment of thelower end of lthechain as to cause the -chain to pass back of the lower end of the lever whenit-is raised, the Weight holding the lever back against theback side of the lever-jaw, causing it to be -self-sustainlng.

-It is sometimes necessary to raise the cutting apparatus into a verticalposition to pass trees and other high obstacles, and it is very convenient to sustain it in that position for transportation. For this purpose Iuse a rod, which I call a sustaining-rod,7 secured to the frame by one eye at the rear of the frame and one in front, in a convenient position for the driver to grasp it quickly, and Aon one end of this rod I form a hook, which may be hooked into the staple I in the nger-beam, and then the operator can instantly pull up the cutting apparatus to the side of the machine for passing obstacles; but when this is done, the machine should be previously shifted out of gear, and to facilitate this process I locate the gearshifter handle immediately in front of the operator at k', so that he may readily, by a forward movement of the handle, shift the gear with his foot or hand. rlhe operator can thus instantly shift the gear and pull up the cutting apparatus to the side of the machine, pass the obstacle, drop the cutting apparatus, shift the gear, and continue his work with the least possible inconvenience or interruption.

When the cutting apparatus is raised and sustained on the rear end of the truck, its weight, added to the Weight of the driver, would cause the front end of the machine to tip up; and to obviatethis result I make the drivers seat movable, so that the driver can readily change his position to the front end of the machine; and as the surface over which these machines are drawn is usually quite rough, it is very important, for the comfort of the driver, that the seat should rest on easy springs, and in shipping and storing these machines it is often convenient to detach the seat 5 and to -adapt the seat attachment to all these purposes I form two suitable recesses in the iron plate D', and pivot therein two pieces of spring-steel, as shown, and the seat is pivoted to the upper ends of these springs. The front and rear sides of the said recesses are of such an angle as to cause the springs to stand at about an angle of forty-five degrees, which will give the seat a movement of about two feet. In this way the seat may be instantaneously changed to balance the machine, the driver is comfortably riding on lon gea-sy springs, and the seat may be detached for storage or shipping by merely removing the two pins by which the springs are pivoted to the machine.

In order to convert this machine into a reaper, I change the pole over to right side of pole-extension andl detach thevmowin g cutting apparatus. I thenplace the inner shoe of the reaping attachment within the wear-plate ears, and a new machine is formed, of new proportions, and adapted to entirely different work.

The surface of grain-lields is usually much more uneven than meadows, and therefore the cutters require to be higher, and the crop is .often tangled so as to require great perfection of reeling apparatus to gather the cut grain on the platform, and experience 'has shown that the grain should be delivered fromthe platform in gavelsby the sameprocess which gathers -it onto the platform. Experience has also shown that the swath cut in grain maybe considerably wider than in grass, with the same power. l therefore make my reaping cutting apparatus about one-fourth wider. For gathering the grain onto the platform and delivering it into gavels around at the side automatically, I prefer the apparatus usually known as the Johnston self-rake,77 which I attach to the inner side of my improved reaping attachment, as shown at F, and thus I form a complete two-wheeled self-rakin g reaper. This is best accomplished by what is usually termed a sweep-rake, to use which the raker would sit on the rear'of the machine, in the usual way, gather in his crop with his rake until he had accumulated suicien't for a gavel,

and then, by a circular motion, sweep it around on a natural curve and off at the side ofthe platform. To do this eifectually with a sweeprake requires that the inner line of cut should be a considerable distance from the raker, so that the inner end of his rake will have sufficient range of movement to carry in the cut grain and sweep it around, and form a complete, compact gavel. To get this increased range of movement, I locate the first guardfinger about fifteen inches out beyond the inner shoe, and extend the cutter-bar (without cutters) from this point into the inner shoe to a suitable point to connect with the ordinary mowing-pitman. I thus get a range of movement for the inner end of the rake which effectually sweeps in all the cut grain and delivers it effectually.

In gathering and delivering thick, tangled grain, the rakes G require to be as wide as they can conveniently be made, in order to prevent the rake from passing under a portion of the grain on the platform. It has been difficult to get a rake sufficiently wide and sufficiently light but I find that by allowing the rake-teeth to pass up through the rakehead about four inches, and attaching a small round stick on their upper ends to prevent grain from lodging on them, a very wide and a very light rake is formed, and the teeth projecting below the rake-head are short, and consequently strong, and when one breaks it can readily be driven out and a new one substituted. I sometimes cover these rakes with canvas to insure clean work.

I have found it necessary to so attach the drivers seat on a reaping-machine that it 'should be elastic in a forward direction, as

well as downward, to protect the driver against the severe jerking motion caused by dropping into dead furrows, of which there is a great number in ordinary grain-fields. This peculiar result l attain by turning my above-described driver-s seat forward, so that it not only balances the reaping attachment, but it also brings the seat-springs into such position that their action, is about as much in a forward direction as downward, and in this way they entirely avoid the peculiar jarring and jerking motion caused by dropping into dead furrows, or striking any l, rge obstacles, such as stones, which are very common in ordinary grainelds.

Having thus fully described my improvements in harvesters, what I claim therein as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,

1. Connecting the cutting apparatus to the main frame by the yielding, elastic corner and the vertically-sliding adjustingrod, arranged and operating as and for the purpose described.

2. The set-screw V, in combination with the wear-plate and hinged shoe, arranged substantially as and for the purpose described.

3. rlhe lifting arrangement, consisting of the raising-handle U, cam B, and chain O, combined and operating as described, whereby, when the cutting apparatus is raised, said lifting apparatus is automatically locked for holding the cutting apparatus in its elevated position, as set forth.

M. G. HUBBARD.

Witnesses:

Gno. E. BUGKLEY, J. H. MYERS. 

